EWS2304@TAMVENUS (01/15/90)
> And, speaking of the future- I've been talking about going to China as >a missionary. Right now, for complex reasons, I'm leaning against it. The >thing I wanted to bring up here is the question of the special "call" some >people profess. I feel no specific "call" to any one activity, only to serving >the Lord with all my gifts, no matter what I do. > Well, time to listen to Radio Prague, or perhaps the "Beeb" >pETER a. lIST Peter, it seems that is your call. To serve the Lord with the gifts He has blessed you with. I will pray that you be blessed so that others can see the blessings of God through you. Keep us in touch about your final decsion. I feel God has given you the call but is leaving up to you the details. In His Love, Eric.
XVDHMAK@VCUVM1 (Michael Kline) (02/05/90)
Peter,
I wish you had read my 5 part series on God. There was a lot in that and
covered some of your questions. I'm hoping others will cover the semantics of
your questions, I hope to cover Jesus. I'll abreviate here, but I guess the
first thing would be that Jesus the Christ IS God. All the other "christs" are
not not God.
Following are exerpts from the 5 part "Who is God?" series. I've included
some of my comments and the scriptures I think pretain to your "other
christs?" question.
=====================================================================>
Jesus and no other has the words of life, and judgement.
John 12:48 - Amplified - And one who rejects Me, and persistently set Me
at naught, refusing to accept My teachings, has his Judge (however); for the
(very) message that I have spoken will itself judge and convict him on the
last day.
====================================================================>
Jesus = God, Creator,
I Corinthians 8:6 - "Yet for us there is only one God, the Father, Who is
the Source of all things, and for Whom we have life, and one Lord, Jesus
Christ, through, and by Whom are all things and through and by Whom we
ourselves exist."
There is only ONE God. The God of the Bible tells us:
Isaiah 43:10 - "You are My witnesses, says the Lord, and My servant whom I
have chosen, that you may know me, believe me, and remain steadfast to Me, and
understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, neither shall
there be after Me."
According to what our God tells us, He's the only one. No other god every
was, no other god will ever be. He wants us to "know" that, to "believe" that,
and to "understand" that. There have been those that say, Christians think
there way is the only way. Well, if there are no other gods, then why should I
worship some other god that isn't a god at all? In our belief then, we can
worship God, or worship a god. Doesn't seem to be a whole lot of choice that I
can see.
Those that say there might be other ways that God expressed himself. If
this were the case, it would be something similar to "For Budda so loved the
world that he gave his only begotten daughter that whosoever believes in her
should not perish but have everlasting life." This is not an attempt to
blaspheme God, but only to say that if He showed himself to others, He would
still be God, maybe a different name, maybe even a different sex although the
Eternal does not have a sex. Hopefully my point is made.
Another way of saying it would be, I live in Richmond. Washington DC is
north. If the Bible told me that I should go north to get to Washington DC,
and if the Koran, pulling an example out of the air, were about the same God,
would it not also say to go north to get to Washington DC. Instead these other
"road maps to the same god" tell us to go East, West, South, or to meditate
and we will get to DC.
Well perhaps God does allow for some "other way"...
Deuteronomy 32.39 - "See now that I am He, there is no god beside Me; I
kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver
out of My hand."
Humph. Looks like He is pretty serious about it. Well, there is Father,
Son and Holy Ghost, but one God? How does the Bible handle that? First, does
the Bible say that our God has more than one part to Him, or give clues to His
being plural?
If an "other" way were just a different representation of our God, then we
would need to see a Trinity, and all three parts of this "other" god doing the
same thing. It seems to me in one of these other gods, 1 part created the
world, one destroyed it, and one rebuilt it. As we go on, we will see that
"God" did all of this. The other gods do not tell the same story.
In many cases, as referenced back to part 1, they do not tell me to go
north to get to Washington DC, but try to convince me to go West to California
and accept something I was not looking for in the first place. Another way to
put it, If I want to go north to Washington DC to see the President of the
United States, they will tell me to go West to California to see the Vice
President of Mobil Oil or something like that. Then they try and convince you
that the VP of Mobil Oil is just as important as the President. After much
discussion and confusion, you have totally forgotten that you were going to
see the President, and that you wanted a Federal Bill passed, and you have
missed your original destination and goal.
WHO REDEEMS US? =====================================================>
Jesus Christ, the Son - 2 Timothy 4:1 - "I charge (you) in the presence of
God and of Christ Jesus Who is to judge the living and the dead, and by (in
the light of) His coming and His kingdom:"
2 Corinthians 5:10 - "For we must all appear and be revealed as we are
before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each one may receive (his pay)
according to what he as done in the body, whether good or evil, (considering
what his purpose and motive have been, and what he as achieved, been busy with
and given himself and his attention to accomplishing)."
John 12:48 - "Any one who rejects Me and persistently sets Me at naught,
refusing to accept My teachings, has his judge (however); for the (very)
message that I have spoken will itself judge and convict him on the last day."
Jesus Christ, the Son - John 1:3 - "All things were made and came into
existence through Him, and without Him was not even one thing made that has
come into being."
Colossians 1:16:17 - "For it was in Him that all things were created, in
heaven and on earth, things seen and things unseen, whether thrones,
dominions, rulers or authorities; all things were created and exist through
Him (by His service, intervention) and in and for him. (17)and He Himself
existed before all things and in Him all things consist - cohere, are held
together."
Hebrews 1:10 - "And (further), You Lord, did lay the foundation of the
earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the works of Your hands."
Jesus Christ, the Son - John 4:22 - "You (Samaritans) do you know what you
are worshipping - you worship what you do not comprehend. We do know what we
are worshipping - we worship what we have knowledge of and understand; for
(after all) salvation comes from (among) the Jews."
I John 4:14 - "And (besides) we ourselves have seen (have deliberately and
steadfastly contemplated), and bear witness that the Father has sent the Son
(as the) Savior of the world."
Acts 4:12 - "And there is salvation in and through no one else, for there
is no other name under heaven given among men by and in which we must be
saved."
Jesus Christ, the Son - John 8:24 - "That is why I told you that you will
die in (under the curse of) your sins. For if you do not believe that I am He
(Who I claim to be) - if you do not adhere to, trust in and rely on Me - you
will die in your sins."
John 8:28 - "So Jesus added, When you have lifted up the Son of man (on
the cross), you will realize (know, understand) that I am He (for Whom you
look); and that I do nothing from Myself - of My own accord, or on my own
authority - but I say (exactly) what my Father has taught Me."
John 8:58 - "Jesus replied, I assure you. I most solemnly tell you, before
Abraham was born, I AM."
John 13:19 - "I tell you this now before it occurs, so that when it does
take place you may be persuaded and believe that I am He - what I say I am,
the Christ, the Anointed One, the Messiah."
John 18:5,6 - "They answered Him, Jesus the Nazarene. Jesus said to the, I
am He. Judas, who was betraying Him, was also standing with them. (6)When
Jesus said to them, I am He, they went backwards - drew back, lurched backward
- and fell to the ground."
Well, this concludes this "study". Like I said, most of it was from my
CARIS notes. It doesn't deal with the "drive" that Christians have to witness,
etc., but it shows, as best as possible, the God we Christians worship, and
hopefully explains why another god would simply be settling
Also, John 3:16-18 - "For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world
that He (even) gave up His only-begottened (unique) Son, so that whoever
believes in (trusts, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish - come to
destruction, be lost - but have eternal (everlasting) life. (17)For God did
not send the Son into the world in order to judge -to reject, to condemn, to
pass sentence on - the world; but that the world might find salvation and be
made safe and sound through Him. (18)He who believes on Him - who clings to,
trusts in, relies on Him - is not judged (he who trust in Him never comes up
for judgement; for him there is not rejection, no condemnation; he incurs no
damnation). But he who does not believe (no cleave to, rely on, trust in Him)
is judged already; (he has already been convicted; has already received his
sentence) because he has not believed on and trusted in the name of the only
begotten Son of God. - He is condemned for refusing to let his trust rest in
Christ's name.
In His Love,
Michael A. Kline, Sr. SSE
VDH, Technical Support
(804)786-1559
XVDHMAK at VCUVM1
Richmond, Virginia